Renacci’s bipartisan bill would improve access to rehabilitation under Medicare

U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) on Dec. 20 reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would make the process faster and less costly for senior citizens receiving Medicare benefits to qualify for post-acute care services in a skilled nursing facility (SNF).

The Creating Access to Rehabilitation for Every Senior (CARES) Act of 2017, H.R. 4701, would eliminate a Medicare coverage requirement that beneficiaries first obtain inpatient treatment at a hospital for at least three days before receiving skilled nursing facility services in an SNF.

The congressman said H.R. 4701 would “enhance access to quality care for our nation’s seniors by protecting the doctor-patient relationship” and also would remove “Washington red tape as a barrier to their health care.”

“Beneficiaries in need of skilled nursing care are typically the frailest and oldest of the Medicare population and they should not be shut out of these critical rehabilitation services due to Washington over-regulation,” said Renacci, a former operator and manager of long-term care facilities in northeastern Ohio.

Under current law, Medicare will cover up to 100 days of SNF care, per instance of care, only if the care follows a qualifying three-day or longer inpatient hospital stay, exclusive of the day of discharge.

A report in 2013 from the federal Commission on Long-Term Care recommended that legislation be enacted to eliminate the three-day, prior-hospitalization stay requirement, which Renacci says hospitals and nursing homes throughout the country also would like to see jettisoned.

Ditching the requirement under H.R. 4701, the lawmaker added, would lower costs by allowing the nation’s overburdened healthcare delivery system to rely less on expensive inpatient hospital settings and more on patient-centered care settings such as an SNF.

“I remain committed to finding bipartisan solutions that will allow Ohio seniors to receive the treatment they need at the time they need it — without Washington standing in the way,” Renacci said.

H.R. 4701 is cosponsored by Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), John Delaney (D-MD), Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Steven Palazzo (R-MS). It has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.